The present invention relates to boats that are stabilized with buoyant stabilizing members. Specifically, the present invention relates to boats that have rigid hulls and an inflatable collar with a foam insert stabilizing member attached to the sides of the hulls and extending substantially around the perimeter of the hulls.
It is very important to design smaller boats with flotation devices in the hull to ensure that the boat remains floating in case substantial water gets into the boat or the boat capsizes. Additionally, flotation devices provide the boat with added buoyancy, thus increasing carrying capacity and safety. The installation of flotation devices is especially important in the case of small boats that are designed for operation on rough waters, such as in the case of rescue boats.
Many prior art boat designs incorporate foam devices within the hull of the boat, as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,865 (Woolworth). Typically, the foam flotation members are incorporated directly within the hull structure itself. These boat designs are generally safer than designs that do not incorporate flotation devices within the hull.
Other prior art boat designs use inflatable cylinders to form the sides of the boat, as in the case of Zodiac(copyright) boats. The inflatable cylinders provide a high degree of stability to the boat, but result in a loss of performance. Generally, prior art inflatable boat designs use inflatable cylinders as the sides of the boat and either a flexible floorboard or a rigid floorboard formed of wood or fiberglass. In operation, the cylinders serve as the running surface for the boat and remain in contact with the surface of the water; thus, a substantial wetted surface area and a significant amount of drag are created. This design also results in a very poor ride due to the fact that the boat tends to skip or bounce over the top of the waves. In addition, the inflatable cylinders are easily damaged and must constantly be inspected for tears, leaks, etc. Another disadvantage to inflatable boats is that typically the interior of the boat is very small, thus leaving little room for carrying equipment or passengers.
Another prior art design is a boat stabilized through the use of outboard foam stabilizing members. Generally, such prior art designs use a rigid, planing hull having a transom and a pair of curved sides extending forwardly from the transom to form the bow of the watercraft. The sides and bottom of the hull are joined to form a chine. Foam stabilizers for stabilizing the watercraft are mounted on the sides of the hull above the chine and extend from the transom along the length of the hull to the bow. The stabilizers extend outwardly from the sides of the hull so that they contact and displace an increasing volume of water as the boat lists. A disadvantage of such foam-stabilized boats is that the foam stabilizers are harder than the prior art inflatable boats with inflatable cylinders at the sides.
The present invention provides a safe, stable, high performance boat while reducing the disadvantages of prior art designs. The present invention""s use of a rigid, planing boat hull combined with an exterior inflatable collar partially filled with foam results in these advantages without the disadvantages of typical inflatable boat designs. Furthermore, the inflatable collar is substantially out of contact with the surface of the water when the boat is at cruising speed. This decreases the wetted surface area of the boat when compared to inflatable boat designs, thus increasing performance. An auxiliary planing strake can also be provided for use as a running surface when a sharp turn is performed at high speed.
The present invention allows the inflatable collar to be mounted to the sides of the boat hull in such a way that water pressure at high speeds does not force the inflatable collar away from the boat hull, thus preventing damage to the boat hull or inflatable collar. Furthermore, the inflatable collar is mounted to the hull without holes being formed in the sides of the boat, thus ensuring that mounting the inflatable collar on the hull does not create a possibility of leaks into the interior of the boat.
An embodiment of an inflatable collar with foam inserts watercraft includes a rigid, planing hull having a transom and a pair of curved sides extending forwardly from the transom to form the bow of the watercraft. The sides and the bottom of the hull are joined to form a chine. A single continuous inflatable collar with foam inserts for stabilizing the watercraft is mounted on the sides of the hull above the chine and extends continuously from the transom along the length of the hull to the bow and back to the transom along the opposite side of the hull. The inflatable collar extends outwardly from the sides of the hull so that it contacts and displaces an increasing volume of water as the boat lists. This stabilizes the boat by increasing the righting moment of the hull. The watercraft may include a flange that extends outwardly from the sides of the hull. The flange is adapted to extend below the inflatable collar to ensure that water does not flow between the inflatable collar and the sides of the hull.
The above and other features of the invention, including various novel details of construction and accommodation of parts, will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will be understood that the particular device embodying the invention is shown by way of illustration only, and not as a limitation of the invention. Principles and features of this invention may be employed in various and numerous embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.